PARIS — France’s transport strike eased but did not end Thursday after President Nicolas Sarkozy accepted negotiations while refusing to budge on his campaign-trail promise that cushy retirement benefits must go.
Frustrated commuters, many of whom had to walk, pedal or Rollerblade to work, urged Sarkozy to hang tough, saying France needs economic reforms to thrive.
Rail and transport workers unions vowed to press the walkout into a fourth day today as the government sought to trumpet figures showing that support was fading.
“Today, there are twice as many buses as yesterday, twice as many trains as yesterday, more subways than yesterday,” said Labor Minister Xavier Bertrand at the Senate. “Still, there are millions of French who don’t have public transport that they’re accustomed to.”
Bertrand said the government would not lead any talks until the strike ends – not before, as unions want. “There needs to be a call to return to work,” he told France-3 TV.
Paris streets became a tangle of bottlenecks in the Thursday evening commute. Some motorcyclists rode on sidewalks to evade the traffic jams. The roundabout at the Arc de Triomphe was at a standstill at one point.
The national rail authority said 150 high- speed trains out of 700 were running Thursday, compared with 90 on Wednesday. Paris’ transport authority said only about 20 percent of subways were running – operated by the few drivers who didn’t abide by the walkout call.
Student protests continued over a planned university reform, which would allow state- funded schools to receive some private funding. A leading student union, UNEF, said classes at nearly half of France’s 85 universities were at least partially disrupted Thursday.
